Acer Aspire One AO150-1570 Netbook Review
Posted: Dec 27, 10:39 PM
I decided to treat myself to an early Christmas present and picked up this snazzy new Acer Aspire One netbook from RadioShack. Normally I would have ordered this online but I was downtown shopping for presents and saw a display in the window and low and behold, impulse buying galore!
Out of all the gadgets I purchased in 2008, the Acer Aspire One is hands down my favorite purchase. From the small form factor to the decent sized hard drive it is the perfect Internet device for someone who is always on the go, like me. Also it is incredibly light, as well as small, which means I can easily throw it in my bag and run out the door without worrying about having some gigantic laptop cramping my shoulder.
The Unboxing
Nothing is more fun than opening up a box to a brand spanking new gadget and laying everything out on the table to marvel in your purchase… and in this case taking pictures of that purchase for all of you!
The Paint Job
The device itself, as you can see from the image(s) below, has a beautiful metallic blue glossy finish that is incredibly pleasant on the eyes. The only downside about the paint job is that this device can easily get all mucked up with fingerprints and grease/body-oil. I find myself often picking the tiny device up and then wiping it off afterward since smudges make me cringe.
The Setup
The device comes equipped with Windows XP located on a separate partition on the hard drive since there is no CD drive. Setting up the device was as simple as turning it on and letting it go through the process of configuring Windows XP. With the default programming charge the battery was able to hold up through the longer than expected setup process.
The only thing I did not like about this device minus the poorly designed touchpad (we’ll cover the mouse later) was the ungodly amount of unnecessary junk that was installed on this netbook and most importantly the McAfee Security Suite trail which managed to crash the tiny netbook four times in a day.
Once I removed all the extra nonsense that Acer installed, the machine was running like a champ and was incredibly speedy for how underpowered it is when compared to a more expensive laptop.
The Hardware
The hardware on this device is really sweet and I was thrilled to learn that there were two multimedia card readers. There is one reader for SD and the other reader for SD and everything else under the sun. Also included is a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 120GB HDD, 1GB of RAM, 3 USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet port, VGA port, separate headphone and microphone jacks, a 1.3MP built in webcam with microphone, 802.11 b/g integrated Wi-Fi and a 8.9in WSVGA TFT display with a maximum resolution of 1024×600.
On top of all of that this netbook comes with a 2200 mAh Lithium Ion battery pack that can keep you going while on the move for a good 2 hours or more! All in all, not too shabby for only $350USD!
The Keyboard and Mouse
When you open the device up you are presented with what has to be one of the tiniest keyboards known to man. The first few days I owned this netbook I wanted to honestly smash it against the wall since I kept hitting the wrong keys. Fortunately, just like using a QWERTY phone or tiny Bluetooth keyboard, you eventually get the hang of using the keyboard. In fact, I am using the Acer Aspire One right this instance to write up this review! While my typing has improved I am still nowhere near as fast as I would be on a full sized keyboard and that is to be expected as well.
While the keyboard was pretty easy to get the hang of, the same cannot be said for the touchpad. Using the touchpad on this device is nothing short of awkward. As you can see from the picture before Acer decided it would be a good idea to put the left and right mouse buttons on their respective side of the touchpad. This is great in most cases, especially if you’re right handed, but being a lefty it makes it terribly difficult perform a left mouse click.
I find it incredibly hard to imagine that there are no left handed people that work at Acer that would have put this device through the quality assurance process. The mouse layout is nothing short of stupid and pretty worthless to use. So far I have trained myself to just tap the touchpad and hit the enter key if I want to open something up. Tedious, I know, but until my new portable mouse arrives that is the only solution that works for me as a left-handed person. On top of that doing something as simple as dragging an icon around the desktop now becomes either a cramp inducing one handed process or a ridiculous looking two handed process.
I was however pleasantly surprised to find that this touchpad came equipped with virtual scrolling which has been really handy and made up a tiny bit for the stupid design of the touchpad in general.
The Screen
While the screen is a lowly 8.9in display, it is still very vivid and bright. In fact the screen is so good I now use this netbook as my main machine while laying in bed and watching movies or TV shows from my networked media center.
The Web Cam
My good friend Julie said it best, “Wow! I can’t believe how clear the picture is!” The webcam is good and the picture quality is excellent. The color is a little washed out, like any image taking device that is only 1.3MP, but it is incredibly handy to have in a pinch and perfect for when my parents and daughter want to have a goofy waving back and forth competition over Skype or Gmail Chat.
The Battery Life and Wi-Fi
I have to admit I didn’t expect the battery to last as long as it does with this netbook. On a single charge I am able to make it through two episodes of Star Trek TNG ripped in Xvid format and viewed through VLC before I have to give the device a charge. That is about as extensive of a test I have done on the battery. This device is tiny and the battery is even smaller. To be honest, I didn’t expect it to do as well as it did as far as battery life is concerned.
One thing I did notice though is that when you are using battery power, your Wi-Fi speeds are greatly reduced. Trying to watch a YouTube video when I’m not plugged in can be torturous at times, especially with a higher definition video. Download speeds will drop from 200-300KBps when plugged in to a pathetic 30-40KBps when not plugged in. I know there are a few hacks out there that can fix this and when I get the time to do so I’ll research them and see if they help but to be honest with as long as the battery lasts on this device I really do not mind taking a hit on my surfing speeds if it means that I can play with my netbook on and off throughout the day without having to charge it.
The Verdict
If you do not already own a netbook, you should really look into getting one. The Acer Aspire One AO150 is an incredible little machine and I highly recommend it to anyone, despite my hatred for the mouse layout. The device is small, battery life is incredible, the screen is gorgeous and most importantly if you’re a girl you can carry this netbook around in your purse… I only know this because I have been stealing the purses of all of my friends that are girls, and a few guys, and putting the netbook in there and giggling to myself. Ah technology. How can you not love it?
If you’re interested in purchasing this device, or reading more reviews on this device, follow the link below to check out the device on Amazon.
Pros:
- Great form factor / super tiny device
- Fantastic price
- Great battery life
- Vivid screen
- Integrated Wi-Fi
- Decent sized hard drive
- Built in webcam
- Fits in your bag or purse
Cons:
- Touchpad is way to difficult to use to ever be productive
- Keyboard is a bit tiny but manageable
Purchase: Acer Aspire One 8.9-inch Netbook
Rocco Augusto is the Managing Editor of Smartphone Thoughts and owns and operates Skimbee Studios – a small Web Development studio based out of Portland, OR. When Rocco is not up to his elbows in gadgets and technology, you can usually find him trying to keep up with his incredibly peppy and energetic daughter or wasting hours away on Twitter.